DAMASCUS - A top aide to the French president telephoned Syria's foreign minister on Monday, a day after Nicholas Sarkozy announced suspension of diplomatic contacts with Syria over its role in Lebanon.

The two sides gave different versions of the conversation, which came as France exerts diplomatic pressure to solve a political crisis in Lebanon pitting the pro-Western government against opposition groups backed by Syria and its ally Iran.

The official Syrian news agency said Claude Gueant, Sarkozy's chief of staff, called Walid al-Moualem twice to discuss "reaching a consensus solution that achieves security and stability in Lebanon."

Sarkozy's spokesman David Martinon told Reuters the conversation was in line with an announcement by Sarkozy in Cairo ordering his government to halt communication until "Syria gave a token of good faith and a widely backed president was elected in Lebanon."

Martinon said Gueant told Moualem that contacts would cease.

France has been leading efforts to mediate a settlement between the Lebanese government and the opposition. French officials have also intensified contacts with Syria and Gueant visited Syria twice since November.

A European diplomat in Damascus said France became exasperated with Syria's insistence on backing the opposition's demands for key ministries and other powers in a new government under discussion.

"The Syrians feel that matters are going their way in Lebanon and that they can afford to wait until their allies obtain what they want," the diplomat said. "Syria has a presidential candidate it could live with and is confident it can push for more."

The election has been postponed repeatedly due to differences between divided Lebanese politicians, who have agreed on army chief General Michel Suleiman as a consensus candidate for the presidency, but are still in dispute over how to share power once he is elected.

The president in Lebanon is elected by parliament, not popular vote. Syria has played down previous reports of France growing impatient with Damascus over the stalled election.

Moualem urged France this month to understand the demands of the opposition and said Syria was using its influence in Lebanon to promote a solution.

Damascus regards Lebanon as a strategic neighbor in its struggle with Israel and backs Hezbollah as a force the Jewish state could not defeat on the ground. Syrian forces pulled out from Lebanon after a 29 year presence under pressure following the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

France occupied Lebanon and Syria from 1920 to 1946 and has had traditionally links with Lebanon's Christian Maronite sect, whose political privileges were curbed under a 1989 sectarian political deal but retained the presidency. -Reuters